Caught up in You
by Love the Brightest Star
Summary: "With something inside him singing, he clutched Bonnie to him..." the night when Damon saved Bonnie from the trees meant a lot to him, but what did that incident mean to Bonnie? The episode from Vampire Diaries — the Return: Nightfall, from Bonnie's point of view. One shot.


**Hi all! This is my first Vampire Diaries fanfic. I don't know if you'll like it, but I hope so!**

 **So this is basically the scene from Vampire Diaries — the Return: Nightfall, where Damon saves Bonnie from the attack of the trees, and its consequences, told from Bonnie's point of view. I always thought that their embrace in the bathroom was a crucial moment in Damon's life, when he almost broke through the barriers he kept around his soul, and this is what my idea of the incident is.**

 **Disclaimer: None of the characters belong to me.**

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 **Caught up in You**

 **'** _With something inside him singing, he clutched Bonnie to him, feeling the wet towel through his raw silk shirt, and feeling Bonnie's slight body under the towel._ _Definitely a maiden, and not a child, he thought dizzily, whatever the writing on that infamous scrap of pink nylon had claimed. He clutched at her as if he needed her for blood—as if they were in hurricane-tossed seas and to let go of her would be to lose her._

 _His neck hurt fiercely, but more cracks were spreading all over the stone; it was going to explode completely, letting theDamon it held inside out—and he was too drunk on pride and joy, yes, joy, to care. Cracks were spreading in every direction, pieces of stone flying off…' — Nightfall, by L.J. Smith_

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The first thing that Bonnie became aware of as her mind slowly drifted from the oppressive darkness was raised voices. Voices arguing, it seemed.

"Get out of my way, brat," a somehow familiar voice hissed, full of menace.

"You don't give a damn about her. You get out of the way—" the other voice was familiar too, and equally angry. The sounds seemed to be coming to her through a poorly tuned radio, though, far away and dim, from over the thick sheet of water—

Wait, water?

It was then that Bonnie realised that her whole body was surrounded by lukewarm water, and that her head was practically under it...

With a burst of energy fuelled by pure instinct, she shot out of the water, causing a mini-geyser to erupt around her. She spat out a mouthful of the liquid and cried, "What's going on?"

The scuffling was immediately cut off at her outburst, leaving a still silence which felt oddly as if all the occupants of the room — wherever she was — had held their breath in expectation. Then there was a pattering of footsteps rushing away, and Bonnie got a glimpse of a dark head disappearing through the door. Stefan.

That guy was always so responsible, so caring. Bonnie wondered vaguely what it was that he was rushing of to do now. Oh well, it didn't matter anyway.

She was reclining — now sitting upright — in a tub full of warm water, a towel over her body to respect her modesty. Finding that there was still some water in her mouth, she gave another attempt at spitting. The water tasted nowhere as wonderful as it felt, lapping against her body.

"It tastes awful," she complained to no one in particular.

"I know," a voice said from the side. Bonnie nearly jumped. And stared.

Damon.

Damon, looking insanely, impossibly beautiful in the dim light of the bathroom, in a black shirt that was very wet, his black bomber jacket tossed to one side, his silky raven hair glinting a little here and there in rainbow facets. And his midnight eyes, staring at her in that way they had never before, in a way that nobody had before, stars shining in their depths. As her eyes raked through his handsome features, she felt a bubble of joy grow in her heart, until it swelled to a size which made her feel like bursting.

"But I'm alive!" she cried in a moment of what her friends would have called a 'pure Bonnie impulse' — not thinking before saying what you felt like saying — allowing her happiness to seep into her facial features. Yes, she was alive, alive and safe, no longer being strangled and poisoned by killer branches, and Damon was with her, smiling as he had never before, and there was every reason to be happy...

Damon's smile was something Bonnie had never seen on his face before. There was happiness there, and relief, and tenderness and a strange fierce pride... it was a smile that even Elena had never got. That smile was something that never been seen on Damon Salvatore 's face, so completely free of any trace of darkness, and yet it seemed that that smile was forever meant to adorn his face, and his face only. It dazzled her without holding a speck of Influence, and all she could do was stare, her relieved smile unwavering, countering his own.

It was rather unbelievable that all of it lasted for a mere couple of seconds.

Suddenly (and it happened so fast that Bonnie had no time to brace herself), strong arms were wrapped around her in a fierce embrace. Bonnie froze, feeling Damon's shirt (was it silk?) getting wetter as it pressed against the towel covering her, his skin feverishly warm against her wet body. His tousled, silky hair tickled her chin, and Bonnie could easily smell the scent of damp linen, cologne and the musky perfume that was uniquely Damon. He clutched her fervently, desperately, as if they were caught up in the middle of a storm and she were his lifeline; as if he would drown without her. And yet there was no force in the contact, only tenderness, and relief and joy so profound that Bonnie didn't have to be a psychic to feel its searing intensity. It was so strong, so infectious Bonnie felt that she would just drown in it, lose herself completely and let go of all sense of place and time...

It was then that her memories decided to catch up with her.

Suddenly she was in the car, trapped in an inescapable network of murderous branches. Images flashed in her mind as she remembered. They had been talking about how it was Damon's fault that Elena and Stefan would be leaving, and that if he hadn't tried to take away Elena, maybe things would have been normal. And then they had gotten trapped under the tree. Had it been Damon's doing? Was he trying to make them pay for blaming him? Meredith had said that Damon even did things out of sheer boredom...

Bonnie could remember the crawling branches, she could feel the pine needles pricking into her skin. She had gone into trance, calling Stefan, but knowing he was far away, calling Damon, apologizing, begging to him, but he had not come. And they had been so sure he was nearby...and she had felt him, dimly, but he was there nevertheless. He never answered her plea. He had been watching lazily from somewhere close, picturing dreadful scenes about vampires slaughtering humans, of red blood running down pristine white steps. While watching her beg helplessly. Watching her cry. He had watched as her strength was choked out by the branches, and watched her friends... Oh, Matt and Meredith... Oh, were they... could they be...?

Suddenly she felt herself push Damon away with a force she herself didn't know she possessed, and heard herself screaming at the top of her voice.

"Help! Somebody, please, help !"

Then all in a moment, everyone was there — Matt, Meredith, Stefan, their eyes protective and angry. Bonnie clutched at her towel, covering herself up better from where it had slipped slightly in her frenzy of panic.

"Please help," she could still feel her mouth moving, her voice ringing, although her brain seemed to have shut down. "He heard me calling—I could feel him on the other end—but he just watched. He stood and watched us all dying. He wants all humans dead, with our blood running down white steps somewhere. Please, get him away from me!"

Meredith was hurrying towards her now, pushing past the others to reach her in the tiny, now crowded bathroom, holding what, by its smell, was a steaming cup of cocoa.

"Here," she said to Bonnie, handing her the cup. "You're safe. Stefan's here. I'm here. Matt's here. Take this towel; let's just put it around your shoulders." Bonnie did as she was told, but her eyes remained on Damon. He was kneeling there on the floor where he had fallen after she pushed him away, his face expressionless. Matt was spewing a torrent of curses and threats combined at him, Meredith was rubbing her back and murmuring soothing words, but Bonnie wasn't listening.

Stefan was looking at Damon too, his dark green eyes full of disappointment and a grim finality.

"Out," he said finally. The word cracked across the air like a whiplash, holding no space for argument. Bonnie flinched. Meredith's comforting grip tightened around her, misinterpreting her reaction.

Damon stood up without a word, grabbed his jacket from the floor, and without giving anyone another glance, strode out of the bathroom.

Immediately, Stefan and Matt had reached her, asking about her condition, checking her health. At a distance, Bonnie thought she could hear a faint call of "Da—mon!" Was it Elena?

"What happened, Bonnie?" Stefan was asking her anxiously. "What did he do? Did he hurt you?"

"No," Bonnie mumbled. She could feel heat creeping up her neck. "I — hehuggedme."

"He — hugged you?" Meredith asked, as if to make sure she had heard it right. Stefan and Matt's faces showed the same surprise and disbelief.

"Yes," Bonnie whispered. She was sure her face was as red as her hair. Suddenly, she felt a sharp pang of guilt. Damon hadn't attacked her. Why had she acted like that?

"That's... unexpected," Meredith said finally. "He saved you. He washed you without trying to take advantage of your position. He fed you his blood. He didn't bleed you. And he... hugged you?" It seemed as if she was trying to piece together the facts instead of explaining the series of events.

"Well, it's better that he's not here anyway," Matt gave a small cough, but even his voice was uncertain. "He did leave us to die."

"He came to me so that I could help you," Stefan said so quietly that Bonnie could barely hear him. But the underlying statement was clear. Damon had finally saved them all, even though he had endangered them by waiting for nearly half an hour with his deadly musings. She looked him in the eye. The leaf-green irises were so guilty, it amplified Bonnie's own feeling of wrongdoing. For a second, they stared at each other, and then Bonnie heard a message sent right to her brain. Stefan was projecting to her.

 _He cares,_ he said. _Damon cares about you._

Bonnie opened her mouth to speak, but no words would come out. Stefan turned away from her.

"Anyway, if what you saw in the car was right," Stefan said out loud, "And Damon was thinking of slaughtering humans, well, it's not very unlike him...and we'd best be wary of him." He looked at her again. "You will be needing proper rest. If you're feeling up to it, you could get dressed, and I will drive you three to your homes."

-o0o-

Bonnie stared at the darkness, willing sleep to come to her. The day had been full of excitements — first a joyous one at Elena's getting back to her old self, and then a grim realisation that there were malach — _more than one_ — controlling random people in Fell's Church. And the individual who was controlling the malach was strong, so strong that he could even control Damon.

And that thought brought her back to why she couldn't sleep.

Damon hadn't been himself when he had ignored her call. She had gotten the proof from Elena. And she had pushed him away like that, screamed accusations at him, made Stefan kick him out.

Her chest tightened in a way that made it impossible for her to stay in bed.

Her feet bare, she padded to the window. It was a dark night; the waning moon had been hidden behind thick clouds.

 _Damon_! Bonnie set out a small psychic call. She didn't dare be more desperate; after yesterday's episode, she was more terrified of him than ever. But that didn't lessen the ache in her heart, the need to apologize, the need to see that 250-kilowatt smile of his flashed at her again. She would invite him in, and say sorry, and if he allowed it, maybe make it up for yesterday...

 _Damon_! She called again, a little louder this time.

Nothing. There was no movement outside her closed window, no swoop of sleek dark wings nor any appearance of that handsome face. The tree branches, silhouetted dark against the dim lights of the town, seemed more ominous than ever.

Unbidden, tears came to Bonnie's eyes. Without making an effort to stop herself (after all, who was there to watch?) or get back to bed, Bonnie crumpled to the ground and let the sobs wrack her being.

"Oh, Damon," she whispered. "I'm sorry. Come back. Oh, do come back! Please!" But nothing happened. More tears slipped, wetting her nightgown.

Finally, with an enormous effort, she pulled herself together, shuffling to the bed. She wondered where and how Damon was now. The darkness of the night gave her a deep sense of misfortune.

"Oh Damon," Bonnie whispered as she lay down, "If you ever come around, if you ever talk to me again, I'm so sorry. Just come back, Damon! Oh, please..."

Wrapping her arms around herself, she slowly shut her eyes. She knew she was alone in bed, but a ghost of Damon's embrace lingered around her, warm and comforting, slowly drawing her to peace. And as she finally sank to sleep, Bonnie saw Damon's smiling face behind her closed eyelids.

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 **So how was it? I tried very hard to make Bonnie in character, but I don't know if it worked or not. Please review and tell me what you think. Your comments are the greatest motivation to me :)**


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